Constructional toy



July 21, 1931. A, Q GILBERT 1,815,708

CONSTRUCTIONAL TOY Filed May 12, 1930 4 Shegts-Sheet l INVENTOR July 21,1931. A. c. GILBERT CONSTRUCTIONAL TOY 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 12,1930 O O 0 O G O G O O y 21, 1931- v A. c. GILBERT 1,815,708

CONSTRUCTIONAL TOY Filed May 12, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR July 21,1931. I

A. c. GILBERT GONSTRUCTIONAL TOY Filed May 12, 1930 ooooo ooo0o -0000000 oQooooOQ o o c llbertf 621601;

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Pate ted July 2 1, 1931 i asm "o. GILBERT,ornE'w HAVEN, ooNnno'rIoU'r "1; oorts'ritoorronAn TOY Ap pl icat'io'nfiled. m 12,

present invention relates to mechanical ele'rnents adaptedtoq be'addedto well known constructional toy outfits-to make possible i the:building of boat} models. (Such: outfits i include .apluralityZ ofinterchangeable, sepa-,

rableparts or elements which can belfast ened I together,;a's-?by: meansoff-bolts andnuts, to form: a great variety oftoysand small engi;neering models, "and the devices so built are i readily disassembledinto the c,ompnent:ele-

merits and. the partsmade-us'able again; and againin differentc'ombinations to form en? i l tir'elyf different models; By: theinclusion in such: an outfit of' the relativelyfew j newelements.hereinafter :described the variety or. models which may ;be; constructedfrom the outfitisenlarged toincludeagreat -numberof boat emodels, theconstruction ofwhich hasfnot heretofore. beenrpossiblej Moreover, the'toy boats' constructed bynieansof; the present invention are iaadaptedto floatand to'beTpropelled under theirown' power;

: In the Specific embodiment of the .inven tion herein: described, thenew elements comf? prise essentially a unitary. or multiple sectionhull,"amultiple1 part deck, a propeller;

and auxiliary'elements ,s'uch: as a rudderandoneior morekeels.zThehullQkeeli-anddeck; parts' are each provided withperforations ofdimensions that have becomestandardin; the well eknowihM'eccanoconstructional toy; outfits; I which perforations are ;-spaceidf; toconform with the spacingfof theperforations r in the otherielemen'tsoftheoutfit wherebythe c0nstr1icti0n of the modelsgfromthe'variouselements is' simplified. and a wideivarielty'iof combinationsthereofis madepossible. I

' For a better understanding of thei'nvention ingsin jwhicha s I V Ijlg.:1 is a viewof, e' forlnof hull comfpllSlIlgwit unitary lstructurey a TFig. 2 isia .viewof anotherforin'of hull I p provided along the lowerpart of the ballast "comprising a multiple part structure;

I fl i'gs. [5and '6;,ar e; perspective views illus-i comprise ,a'unitaryi structure 1 preferably which; and through surface 5, arerelatively reference is made to the acctompanyin-g-draw-;

= a. ballast keell? isfastened to the keel 16 as j Fig.1S is a View; ofthemultiple pfart deck;

- the hull may be made of separate'sections 1A;

1930; serial No. 451,590.

trating of the many models which be built; y Referringtothedrawings, andmore parp if ,ticularly to Figs. 1, 3 and l, the hull may of metal,witha pointed; bow 2land fiat stern 3. Adjacentthe stern 3, a portion of.the bottom of thehullisraisedto form an up wardly and forwardlyprojecting section having'aplanesurface 5 in-clined at an angle tothehorizontal. Tothe rear, of ;section 4:-is a -slightly raised portionof'the bottom having a plane'horizontalsurface 7 through largeperforations 8; and 9, respectively.

Along; the bottom of the hull 1 are perform tions 10 of standard size.Hollow shafts '11 and' lZ-jthreaded at theirlower "ends are fastened,withinthe perforations 8' and 9. respectively by" means of lock-nutsscrewed over the threadedportion of'the shafts, and I 'locatedoneitherside of the plane surfaces I 7 and '5.;. A-rod 13a,,upon whichisri'gidly mounted] a rudder. 13, passes throu h the, bore ofshaft 11.;Ashort perforated 14: serving as a tiller is mounted at the upper endof man by means ofv a collar 14 Passing through the bore ofshaft 12 is arod 15a benttoforma hook at its upper end and carrying-a propeller 15 atits lowerendn :i'A keel -l6;providedj with perforated lugs; 16a; is,fastened'tof the hull by means of nuts screwed on bolts passing throughthe perforations in lugs'16a. and through the perforations 10in thebottom of thehullLxTo 1 I I make thefl'construction Water tight,f rubber-r gasket washers 10a are usedas shown to prevent leakage about elementswhich pass, through the bottom of the hull. If the boat" model to-beconstructed is of the type which 9: needs additional ballast to preventcapsizing,1

shown in Fig., 3-. gSpaced perforations are keel so that'additionalballast may be obv tained byfastening any number of metal stripsthereto.- 1

' Ifnsteadof theunitary above described,

2A and 3A (Fig. 2) provided with perforated strip V dependently. Thoughnotshown 3Acould together by end: portions 1a, 2a and 3a respectively byconstructed that the bow section 221' and stern section 3A may be joinedto form one structure and the mid-section 1A used in-' be replaced by 2Agiving the structure a cruiser stern, similar to the-bow. 'InFig-s. 4,5'and 6 for simplicity the unitary hull of Fig. 1' has 1 beenillustrated, but it Will be understood that the hull of Fig.2 could beemployed as readily in the models illustrated I in these figures. Whenthe multiple section hull isemployed, suitable gasket :washers may beinserted between the end portions 1a and' 2a' and 1a and Salwhen theyare joined bolts passing through the per:

forations shown therein. 1 e

The multiple part deck (Fig- 3-) comprises I bow sections 18 and 19, astern section 20- and a central section 21 from which is cut out anoval, shaped piece 21a. The sides of bow, stern and central sectionsareeach provided with flanges extendin arallel to the sides of the hull andprovided with perforations adapted'to 'register 'with perforations alongtheupper sides of the hull." Eachd'eck part:

is provided with a plurality'of perforations spacedto conform with thestandard and so distributed as to permit 'thefother elements of theusual outfit to be combined with one or more deck secti'ons ina-variet'y of ways, In the stern deck section-20 one larger perforation'20a is provided for the passage therethrough of the shaftl l. 1 Eachdeck section is symmetrical about-the vertical plane passing through the-tip of the bow and center' ofthe stern. s 'T-his permits anyone of thesections tobe attached to the hull either with the flangedside portionsextending upwardly to make 'th at deck lower than the top of the hull,or extending "downwardly 'to make'the surface of that section flush withthe top of the hull. *7 The fmul'tiplepart in vertiblef deck is 'o f'prime'importance asi't makes possible the construction of whollydifferent types of models. For example, if

rowboat isjdesi're'd, sections 1'8 and 20'only are "used. If an opensport model motor boati'sl to be built all parts but "210; are used.-Ifsa tug "boat orst'eame'r is to be built sections Band 20" may beinverted, sec tion' 19'raised by 'adding standard strips between it andthe hull, and sections 21 and 21aused--=at still higher levels; 'Forexample, in the motor 7 boat shown in Fig. 5 section 21a is usefld as'a' canopy top, Whereas in the excursion: looat shown in Fig. 6 thissame section forms the roof of the cabins, while sectio'nsl21 and 19 aremounted at lower levers, and section 20 is inverted and fastened flushwith the top of the hull. I

In each model the same driving mechanism may be employed, An example ofa readily constructed mechanism adapted to be made from standard vpartsis shown, in Fig. 4L. This mechanism includes a .rod 22 horizontally androt'atably mounted in perforations in angle strips 23 fastened to theunderside of section 18; Rod 22 had mounted thereon agear'24'which'meshes with a larger gear 25 mounted on a vertical shaft26; Shaft 26 is 1=-otatab1ymountedin a perforation in deck section 18'and carries above the level ofthe decka ratchet wheel 27 with which apawl 28 co-operates. Pa'wl 2'8 isrotatab ly mount ed upon ascrew'fast'ened in another perforan tion of' the de'ck'and is held;firmly in engage" ment with the teeth of the ratchetwheel 27 by means ofa spring. 29 f'astenedto 'a perforation in the'fi 'ange "of the deck. Ahandle 30 mounted on' an arm 31 fastened. to rod26 serves crankfor'winding the mechanism. The end of rod 22 is bent to forma hook, To

transmit motion fro-m red 22' to propeller shaft 15a, and to-store theenergy for driving v the propeller during winding of the mechanism, astrong el'astic band 32 is looped about the hooked "ends of rods 15a and22. Granking themech'anism by means: of handle: 30 while preventingrotation of propeller 15 serves'totwist theband 32 so that. when theboat is placed in the water and thepropeller released, ftheband32, inuntwisting itself,

will'rot'ate the-propeller shaft and thereby propel the boat? Theabovesimple form of driving mechanism has been found suitable forthetype of models herein described, but any suitable, manuallyfwindablemechanism may be employed as, for example, a'spring motor and-such motormiight 'give a greater range'of travel of the boat. I Where the driv,in'g mechanism of Fig.4 is employed in the multiple section hull of Fig;2, suitable perforations are provided in the end portions 1a, 2a and 3afor the passage therethrough of theelastic band'32; y V In Fig. 15'isillustrated a-motor boat model using comparatively few elements for itsconstruction. The keel 16, propeller 15-and rudder 13- are mounted uponthe hull as described in connection with Fig. 4. Deck secti'on'18 isfastened to the hull with the flanged sides extending upwardly and adriving mechanism similar to that above described mounted thereon.Decksectionsyltl, 20 and 21 are likewise mounted with the flanged sidesextending ;upw'ardly. A steering'rod 32,r tatab1y mounted in anglestrips 33 fastened to deck portion 19, base wheel '34 mounted upon oneend thereof to simulate a steering wheel. A; string 35 wound about lliiwheel 34 I I model of an" excursion boat sectionQOisfinv'erted so as to'give a surface flush with the topof the hull, and sections 21 and 19are raisedtoa higher level by the in j -termediary of strips 37 from thestandard Qoutfit: Deck section 18 is not visible Fig. 6but is fastenedinplace by bolts 38 to which arealso fastened short perforated strips 39.Strips 39 serve to support strips 40 which ea tendparallel to and abovethebow of the hull to-fsimulate a guard railand-to conceal the windingmechanism, which mechanism may be similar to that described inconnection with Fig. 4 and may besimilarly mounted on deck18.

Deck section 7 21a is fastened by means of a"su'tfi'cientnumberof anglepieces to perforate-d strips .41 similarto strips 37 but bent to conformto the outline of deck 21a.

Upon deck section 210 are mounted two flanged perforated nplates 42 and43, the,

former, rectangular in shape and the latter tapering towardthebowfPlates l2 and 4:3 serveto carry funnelsit, turret 4:5 and life boats 46constructed; from short, stripsand Tangle pie ces. a

The models disclosed and are but examples of the many different kinds ofboats which maybe constructed from the elements in a standard toyoutfitwhen the new. elements *of the presentinvention are added thereto."Side-wheelersp tankers, airplane carriers, sailing' boats,battle-ships,

' barges, scows, and many otherimodels' may I, also be. constructed fromsuch an enlarged outfit. The construction of this wide variety of modelsis dueprimarily to the provision of the multiplefpart deck andv to theprovision in the sides of the hull'and in the flanges andplanelsurfacesofthe deck sections of the. pluralityof perforations con:

forming iii "spacing. and" dimensions to the spacing and dimensions ofthe perforations inthe stand'ard'elements of the usual outfit. In thedeck sections, Fig. 3,- it will be noted that wherepossible the spacingbetween adjacentperforations is made equal to or a multiple of thestandard spacing. j Whensuch standard spacing is not feasible, as, forexample about the rounded end portionsof section 21a, the perforationsare so positioned. that the spacing" therebetween is along radii orchords' whi'ch conform to the standard. 1

It is apparent that" thestability of the model shown in Fig. 5 andthatof Fig. 6, p

' rations in the upper sides of said hull, in said deck sections and inthe flanges'thereof, and

due to the difference in' amount of super structure or variationsinlength of hull,

, bolts passing through wouldbeentirely diiferent necessitating theprovision of aniauxiliary keel which maybe shiftedfore and aft, and towhich weight .maywbe added. This-feature is exceedingly important forthese toys are all, workable and itis essentialithat when the samestructure is used to serve asthe hull "for several. 7 models, whichwillhave different centersof buoyancy and meta-centric heights,provision must be made to assure stability when afloat. The properlydisposed perforations in the hull sections permit this to be done.

For example, in Fig. 6 the weight would be secured interior of the hull,for were it added exterior the increase of hull resistance due to itbeing centered close to the hull would so retard the speed as to makethe model practically unworkable.

center board and if necessary the proper gardless of its contour.

The following is claimed:

If the hull 'were Sloop rigged, a keel similar to that shown in Fig. I 3would be added, the plate substituting for a 35 weight distributedthereon. In like manner f each model may be properly stabilized re- 1. Aconstructional toy boat comprising .in combination a plurality ofsections adapt ed to be, connected together to form a watertight hullandprovided with spaced perforations about the upper. edges thereof, anda plurality of flanged deck sections equal in number to the number ofhull sections and corresponding therewith said deck sections beingprovided with spaced perforations in 'the flanges thereof adapted toregister with said perforations in the hull sections where- 1 by thedeck and hull sections may be connected together to form modelsof'various lengths. g i

2. A constructional toy boat according to claiml wherein each of saidhull sections is;

provided with an end wall and said sections are adapted to be connectedtogether by v registering perforations in said end walls. r

3. A constructional toy boat comprising in combination, a hull, amultiple part deck consisting of flanged sections adapted to'bepositioned either side up to form a deck of i i 1 variable elevations,symmetrically disposed perforations in the upper sides of saidhull andin said deck sections and in the flanges thereof, all said perforationsbeing spaced in accordance with a predetermined standard to permit saidelements to be secured in positions to form more than one type of boat.

-' 4. A constructional toy boat comprising in combination a hull, amultiple part invertible flanged deck, a hatch cut from one of said deckparts, meansfor positioning the hatch cover flush with the deck or atvarious higher levels, symmetrically disposed perfo- Vin imagms saidhajtch'wver, all said iaerforation be:- irrg spaced in accordance with va; predetermined standarditovpermit sazil eliemenibs to be secured inpositions toi form more thanv one type of boat.v '-i I In testimony nameto this sp

